Dental treatment assemblies

ABSTRACT

A dental treatment assembly comprises a patient&#39;&#39;s chair and a dental treatment unit supported by the chair which is mounted on a base for adjustment in a generally vertical direction relatively to the base. The dental treatment unit includes a housing, a dental hand appliance support arm pivotally connected to the upper surface of the housing and a dental spittoon unit mounted on the upper surface of the housing.

United States Patent Heubeck [4 1 May 16, 1972 [54] DENTAL TREATMENTASSEMBLIES [56] Relerences Cited [72] Inventor: Erich Heuheck, Erlangen,Germany UNITED STATES PATENTS [73] A ign e: Siemens Aktiensesellmhaft.Erlansen, 3,311,4l l 3/1967 Page et al. ..32/22 y 3,530,5 l 3 9/1970Maurer et al. ..32/22 [22] Filed: Oct. 20, 1969 Primary Examiner-RobertPeshock PP 867,512 Attorney-Richards and Geier [30] Foreign ApplicationPriority Data [57] ABSTRACT 0m. 26, 1968 Germany ..P 18 05 5151 A dentaltreatment assembly comprises a p chair and a dental treatment unitsupported by the chair which is mounted [52] 0.5. CI..... a base foradjustment in a generally vefliwl direction rela- 5 1 m "HA6" 9 02tively to the base. The dental treatment unit includes a hous- [58]Field at Search ..32 22; 4/263 g. a dental hand appliance Support armPivotally connected to the upper surface of the housing and a dentalspittoon unit mounted on the upper surface of the housing.

7 Claims, 2 Drawing figures PATENTEDMM 16 m1? 3 (I; (5 2 465 ATTORNESSDENTAL TREATMENT ASSEMBLIES BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION a. Field of theInvention This invention relates to a dental treatment assemblycomprising a patients chair and a dental treatment unit supported by thechair which is mounted on a base for adjustment in a generally verticaldirection relatively to the base.

b. Description of the Prior Art In dental treatment assemblies of thiskind it is known to mount a horizontal support, which extends parallelto the longitudinal axis of the chair, at one of its ends on thevertically adjustable base part of the chair. On the free end of thehorizontal support situated approximately in the region of the forwardseat edge of the chair, a tubular upright is mounted near its end whichbears resiliently on the floor through the agency of an extensible part,the dental unit being mounted on the upright to be rotatable about theupright by means of clips. The head of the dental unit is adapted to beinclined about a horizontal axis, and from one side surface of theinclinable head there can be pulled out a jib-like telescopic arm ofrelatively small cross-section which at its free end carries a housingunit for dental hand appliances, for syringing and drilling. Theextendible conduits to the hand appliances and the like are disposedbetween the dental unit head and the head appliance housing in the openand, as long as the hand appliances are in their housings, are slightlytensioned by a winding device for the flexible conduits which isarranged in the dental unit. Owing to this construction, the dental unitwith the telescopic arm can be pivoted about the tubular upright, thehousing unit for the hand applicances describing, in a plane situatedabove the patient, an arc the radius of which is adapted to be varied bythe variously selectable lengths to which the telescopic arm can bepulled out. Also, the height of the pivoting plane above the patient canbe varied by different inclinations of the dental unit head.

The invention proceeds from the realization that the dental apparatus ofthe type described hereinbefore is disadvantageous since when the handappliance housing unit is pivoted on an are situated in a horizontalplane above the patient, the heavy dental unit must also be pivoted aswell. Easy adjustment of the hand appliances is prejudiced as a result.Furthermore the dental unit cannot be used for fitting a dental spittoonunit, since the spittoon unit would vary its position relatively to thepatients chair in dependence on the pivoted position of the dental unit,and since the part of the dental unit necessary for fitting the spittoonunit would further prejudice easy movement.

The main object of the present invention is to provide a dentaltreatment assembly in which the aforesaid disadvantages are minimized oreliminated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention there isprovided a dental treatment assembly comprising a patients chair and adental treatment unit supported by the chair which is mounted on a basefor adjustment in a generally vertical direction relatively to the base,the treatment unit including,

a. a housing disposed on one side of and connected to the patient'schair, the housing presenting an upper surface,

b. a support arm mounted at one end on that part of the upper surface ofthe housing which is remote from the base of the chair for pivotalarcuate movement in a substantially horizontal plane relatively to thehousing,

c. a dental hand appliance unit carried by the other end of the arm, and

d. a dental spittoon unit mounted on that part of the upper surface ofthe housing which is nearer the base of the chair.

Preferably the support arm is articulated to a vertical pivot bearing sothat it is situated so far above the upper side of the dental unit thatthe mouth rinsing tumbler and the spittoon dish or funnel areaccommodated therebelow.

By arranging the vertical pivot bearing on the dental unit it self, whenthe hand appliance housing unit is pivoted horizontally, it is simplynecessary to pivot the support arm instead of the entire heavy dentalunit. Furthermore, the dental unit always now retains its positionrelatively to the patients chair, so that it can be provided with aspittoon unit. Owing to the arrangement of the vertical pivot bearingfor the horizontal jib near that side wall of the dental unit which isadjacent the foot end of the patients chair, the greater part of thecross-section of the dental unit is freed for the fittings of thespittoon unit, such as a heating device for water, the automatic systemof the mouth rinsing tumbler filling device, settling vessel for thesuction installation, etc. The dental unit can also be made to extend sofar towards the head end of the patients chair (with an elongated,narrow crosssection) that the part equipped with the spittoon unit caneasily be reached by the patient. The feature whereby the support arm atits underside is articulated to the vertical pivot bearing at such adistance above the upper side of the dental unit that the mouth tumblerand the spittoon dish or funnel are accommodated below it, has theadvantage that the support arm can be pivoted over the dental unit whennot in use. In this inoperative position, dental unit and support armoccupy only a relatively small space so that they constitute a verysmall obstacle e.g. when cleaning the rooms in which the apparatus issituated.

Within the framework of the invention it is advantageous for thevertical pivot bearing arranged on the upper surface of the dental unit,for the horizontal support arm, to be com structed in such a manner thatthe support arm can be pivoted through at least 50 to each side of asubstantially vertical axis passing through the center of the bearingfrom its inoperative position above the dental unit in order that thedental unit can be used selectively supported on the left-side orright-side of the chair both for right-handed users and left-handedusers.

A further advantageous development of the subject of the inventionconsists in that at the side wall of the dental unit which is adjacentthe head end of the patients chair, housings are provided for astrong-suction nozzle and a saliva extractor nozzle. If these nozzlesare arranged in this region they are particularly confortably within thereach of the dental nurse, who usually operates these.

If the inclination of the back rest of the patients chair is altered,the patients head moves farther away from the foot end of the patientschair. The mouth rinsing tumbler and the spittoon dish or funnel,therefore, cannot be reached equally satisfactorily by the patient inall positions of the back rest. Therefore, to obviate thesedisadvantages, according to the invention it is proposed that thesupport for the dental unit on the patients chair comprises an elongatesupport member in the form of a guide rail which extends parallel to thelongitudinal axis ofthe patients chair and along which the dental unitis guided so as to be displaceable and lockable in desired positions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In order that the invention may bemore fully understood an embodiment in accordance therewith will now bedescribed by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawing,in which:

FIG. 1 shows a dental treatment assembly in an inoperative position, and

FIG. 2 shows the dental assembly of FIG. 1 in an operative position.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In FIG. 1, l designates thepatients chair which comprises a head part 2, a back rest 3, a seat part4, a foot part 5, a base 6 which supports the chair on the floor, and avertically adjustable base part 7 which is connected to the seat part 4,and a parallelogram arm 8 which connects the two parts 6 and 7 to oneanother. The dot-dash line 9 represents the longitudinal axis of thepatients chair.

The dental treatment unit includes an upright and elongate housing 10which is disposed to one side, i.e. the left-hand side, of the patientschair 1 with its longitudinal extent parallel to the longitudinal axis 9of the patients chair I. A support arm 12 is connected at one endthrough the agency of a rigid casing 14 on that part of the uppersurface I] of the housing which is remote from the base of the chair 6for pivotal arcuate movement in a substantially horizontal plane about asubstantially vertical axis 15. The connection of the arm 12 is adjacentthe end 13 of the housing, which end 13 is nearer the foot part of thepatient's chair. Also, the arm 12 is connected to the casing 14 forpivotal upward and downward movement about a substantially horizontalaxis in the form of a pin 16. The dental hand appliances are supportedon the other, free end of the arm 12, the housings l7 and 18 for aturbine handpiece 19 and a micromotor handpiece 20 inset into the endface 21 of the arm 12, and a dental syringe 22 rests in a housing 23fixed to the upper surface of the arm I). A dental instrument tray 24 issupported in a manner to be described below the hand appliances 19, 20,22. A stirrup-shaped handle 25 is also mounted on the free end of thearm 12 between the syringe 22 and the handpieees 19, 20.

That part of the upper surface I] of the housing which is nearer thechair base 6 Le. adjacent the head part 2 of the patients chair 1 isconstructed as a spittoon unit and carries at the upper surface 11 aremovable spittoon bowl 26, a mouth rinsing tumbler 27 and a mouthrinsing tumbler filling device 28. Also arranged at the narrow end 29 ofthe dental unit 10 are operating pushbuttons 30 (for the tumbler fillingdevice, operation of the syringe and the like) and below these operatingpushbuttons 30 a strong-suction nozzle 31 and a saliva extractor nozzle32 are arranged removably in respective supports in a housing 33.

As shown in FIG. 2 an elongate support member in the form of asubstantially horizontal guide rail 34 which extends parallel to thelongitudinal axis 9 of the patients chair 1 is mounted on the verticallyadjustable base part 7. A carriage 35 supporting the dental unit issupported to be displaceable lengthwise of the chair (arrow 37) by meansof bearings in the form of rollers 36 (for the sake of simplicity, onlyone roller is illustrated) and to be lockable by means of a releaseablelocking device constituted by an electromagnetic brake 38. FIG. 2 alsoshows the way in which the tray 24 situated below the hand appliancesi9, and 22 is supported. The tray 24 is supported by a counterbalancedarm assembly 39 including a parallelogram linkage which is disposedbelow the arm 12 and which at one of its ends is mounted for pivotalmovement about two substantially horizontal axes 40 and 41 of the casing14, the axes 40 and 41 being disposed one above the other. The axescorresponding to the pivoting axes 40 and 4] at the tray-side end of theparallelogram arm 39 are designated as 42 and 43. For substantiallyhorizontal pivoting of the tray 24 towards and away from the housing 10,there is also arranged between the tray-side end of the arm 39 and thetray itself a substantially horizontal pivoting arm 44. Provided at theundersurface of the arm 12 is a recess 45 into which the arm 39 can besunk over its entire length. The parallelogram arm 39 can beconnected-up to the arm [2 in this recess 45 by means of press studmeans comprising a stud part 46 which is fixed on the parallelogram arm39 and with which there is associated a corresponding counter-part 47within the recess 45.

I claim:

1. A dental treatment assembly, comprising in combination with apatients chair having a back and a seat, a floormounted base and meansconnecting said base with the seat of the chair for vertically adjustingthe chair; a dental treatment unit comprising an elongated housinghaving an upper surface located to one side of the chair and extendingin the direction of the chair, said upper surface having a surfaceportion located closer to the back of the chair than another more remotesurface portion, a dental spittoon unit mounted upon that surfaceportion which is located closer to the back of the chair, a su port arm,means carryingpne end of said support arm upon at surface portion whichis more remote from the back of the chair for pivotal arcuate movementabout a vertical axis in a substantially horizontal plane, and a dentalhand appliance unit carried by the other end of said support arm.

2. An assembly as set forth in claim 1, wherein the arm is mounted onsaid housing for generally vertical pivotal movement from and to asubstantially horizontal position relatively to the housing, the armbeing disposed in a plane above the spittoon unit in said position.

3. An assembly as set forth in claim 1, wherein the spittoon unitcomprises a mouth rinsing tumbler filling device and a spittoon bowl.

4. An assembly as set forth in claim 2, wherein said one end of the armis pivotally connected to a bearing which is constructed to permitpivotal arcuate movement of the arm through at least 50 to each side ofasubstantially vertical axis passing through the center of the bearing.

5. An assembly as set forth in claim 3, wherein a suction nozzle and asaliva extractor nozzle are mounted on respective supports which arecarried by that end of the housing which is nearer the base of thechair.

6. An assembly as set forth in claim 2, wherein the housing is connectedto the chair by means of an elongate support member rigidly secured toone side of, and extending lengthwise of the housing and the chair, theconnection between the support member and the housing being capable ofpermitting linear movement of the housing relatively to the chair.

7. An assembly as set forth in claim 6, wherein releasable locking meansare connected between the support member and the chair for securing thedental unit in any desired position.

* a a: a

1. A dental treatment assembly, comprising in combination with apatient''s chair having a back and a seat, a floor-mounted base andmeans connecting said base with the seat of the chair for verticallyadjusting the chair; a dental treatment unit comprising an elongatedhousing having an upper surface located to one side of the chair andextending in the direction of the chair, said upper surface having asurface portion located closer to the back of the chair than anothermore remote surface portion, a dental spittoon unit mounted upon thatsurface portion which is located closer to the back of the chair, asupport arm, means carrying one end of said support arm upon thatsurface portion which is more remote from the back of the chair forpivotal arcuate movement about a vertical axis in a substantiallyhorizontal plane, and a dental hand appliance unit carried by the otherend of said support arm.
 2. An assembly as set forth in claim 1, whereinthe arm is mounted on said housing for generally vertical pivotalmovement from and to a substantially horizontal position relatively tothe housing, the arm being disposed in a plane above the spittoon unitin said position.
 3. An assembly as set forth in claim 1, wherein thespittoon unit comprises a mouth rinsing tumbler filling device and aspittoon bowl.
 4. An assembly as set forth in claim 2, wherein said oneend of the arm is pivotally connected to a bearing which is constructedto permit pivotal arcuate movement of the arm through at least 50* toeach side of a substantially vertical axis passing through the center ofthe bearing.
 5. An assembly as set forth in claim 3, wherein a suctionnozzle and a saliva extractor nozzle are mounted on respective supportswhich are carried by that end of the housing which is nearer the base ofthe chair.
 6. An assembly as set forth in claim 2, wherein the housingis connected to the chair by means of an elongate support member rigidlysecured to one side of, and extending lengthwise of the housing and thechair, the connection between the support member and the housing beingcapable of permitting linear movement of the housing relatively to thechair.
 7. An assembly as set forth in claim 6, wherein releasablelocking means are connected between the support member and the chair forsecuring the dental unit in any desired position.